POWER IN LITTLE THINGS
Wednesday, July 8, 2020
Feelings find their way from brain to page easily on good days when morning sunshine and fresh air propel my day with potential, energy, and optimism.
Later in the day, however, those feelings, tempered by events of the day – highs and lows life surf surging onto a beach. By the end of the day, most things seem just about the same. The world keeps spinning around. A sense of powerlessness wants to creep in if I allow it.
Maybe its COVID fatigue, doubtless I’m getting old.
In recent days I’ve been buoyed by being buoyed up from good things working out – not massive change or megadeal euphoria, just some more good work, some collaboration with colleagues, and progress on some projects. And not that I’m any less interested, it’s just that I feel so much better about them in the morning, and yet weary of them by the end of the day.
The solution is not clear. Sleep, as in ‘more of it,’ is part of the equation. Plodding step after step is part of it. Not giving up is part of it. Finding the spark in something every day and having it light a fire inside me is part of it.
A tiny voice inside says, “Chin up, tomorrow’s another day.”
And it is.
Here we go again.
For me, for you, it isn’t another day of solving the world’s problems and our collective inability to cope with the strain – because that would drive us all crazy.
For every one of us, our challenge is to find one thing/problem/issue each day and to do something about it.
One easy thing. One that is worthy of our talents, which at the end of the day, is DONE.
Mission accomplished. Something that is finished.
We need something little like that, a small victory, every day.
It might be so small that nobody else notices is or regards it as significant.
That’s OK.
Do it anyway.
Know it anyway.
Nobody else needs to know.
This is important, I believe, for all of us.
If we measure our days only by big things and leaping over major hurdles in solving significant problems, or moving some big thing along an inexorable path to completion – then most days we’ll feel short-changed.
Big ideas take a long time. Sometimes that big completion day arrives, but until it does, we need to keep faith with our belief in the merits, and never give up. Sometimes we wake up with a better idea, or a different idea, or one that stands on the shoulders of the first idea.
But each day, we need little wins.
Little things called ‘done.’
Little ‘stroked off my list’ things.
Little things that won’t be on today’s list because we finished them yesterday.
I had a good day yesterday. A lot of little things. Some forward, some back. Some will add up to much, and some won’t matter much in the end – and I cannot for the life me tell which ones belong in which pile. What I do know, and this inspires me nearly every day, is that something I said made a difference to someone. Something I wrote made a difference to someone. And something I did, or said, or wrote, made me better able to move some big things along that inexorable path.
Today starts out looking like every other day.
But it won’t be.
Bite hard, dig deep, pull, and push.
The only finish line is when we are finished.
We don’t need to see our destination; we only need to see past the end of our nose to be sure we are headed in the right direction.
We all have a purpose, an important one, and I don’t believe it is essential to know it clearly or to say it powerfully every day – in part because we don’t feel it that clearly or vigorously every day, but it is still there. It’s like the spine that holds us up, keeps us steady, and seems connected to our moral backbone – we don’t have to think about it all day, yet it is still there. It doesn’t go anywhere. Things at our core, are like that. Always.
Reader feedback:
Subject: Aunt Jemima - The world knew her as "Aunt Jemima," but her given name was Nancy Green and she was a true American success story. She was born a slave in 1834 Montgomery County, KY, and became a wealthy superstar in the advertising world, as its first living trademark. Green was 56-yrs old when she was selected as spokesperson for a new ready-mixed, self-rising pancake flour and made her debut in 1893 at a fair and exposition in Chicago. She demonstrated the pancake mix and served thousands of pancakes... and became an immediate star. She was a good storyteller, her personality was warm and appealing, and her showmanship was exceptional. Her exhibition booth drew so many people that special security personnel were assigned to keep the crowds moving. Nancy Green was signed to a lifetime contract, traveled on promotional tours all over the country, and was extremely well paid. Her financial freedom and stature as a national spokesperson enabled her to become a leading advocate against poverty and in favor of equal rights for folks in Chicago. She was one of the very first black millionaires when she died. General Mills bought her name and likeness from her. She maintained her job until her death in 1923, at age 89. I would bet most protesters know absolutely nothing about Nancy Green Nancy Green was a remarkable woman... and she has just been ERASED. Wrong!, DW, Oyen, AB
You are so completely ‘on track’! The depravation for those folks not in a ‘family bubble‘ has been devastating. Now people consider causal touch ‘off limits’, our smiling faces are covered with masks, and a hug is obsolete. Once back around our ‘safe’ people we have returned to normal, but what about those, like you who don’t have that? Pets have been a big resource, but Gusta, who would have been your ‘person‘, is gone. I hope you will identify who can share a ‘bubble‘ with you Mark and get at that hugging! I remember what a good hugger you are!, SF, Lethbidge, AB … P.S.: my husband was a produce manager. He said some customers cannot physically cut a whole watermelon, nor eat that much...hence the labour to do that for them is included in the price...he too shook his head at that price comparison, but said some people don’t shop with price in mind.
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